Russian stocks may rise early on Wednesday’s inertia

MOSCOW, Feb 2 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market may edge up at the start of Thursday’s trading session by inertia following Wednesday’s evening purchases, analysts said.

“We expect trade in Russia to start with a moderate increase of the MOEX Russia Index of up to 0.7% in the range of 2,230–2,245. The levels of 2,220 and 2,210 will act as the closest support, while 2,250 and 2,260 will become the resistance,” Algo Capital’s senior risk manager Vitaly Manzhos said.

The external background is mixed as the futures for the U.S. indices show mixed dynamics, the Brent oil price gained 0.6% after a serious fall on Wednesday, the gold prices gained 1.3%, the Chinese index Shanghai Composite remained almost flat, and the Japanese index Nikkei225 added 0.2%. Still, the purchases that the Russian shares experienced on Wednesday evening create conditions for the MOEX Russia Index to grow at opening, Manzhos said.

Deputy Director of Freedom Finance Global’s research department Georgy Vashchenko said that the majority of Russian shares might continue growing, even though the growth should slow down. The news flow and the external background remain calm, he said.

But Alexei Antonov, head of Alor Broker’s investment consulting department, said that the Russian market may contract following possible contraction of the U.S. bourses.

The stock market reaction to Wednesday’s decision of the U.S. Federal Reserve System to raise its rate by 0.25 percentage points and signal further increases was surprising. The U.S. markets grew, and the U.S. dollar index fell, he said.

“But the first market reaction to the Federal Reserve System is often false. We don’t rule out a downward correction in the U.S. today coupled with growth of the U.S. dollar. It would be good for the Russian market to contract in correction as well before trying to break the level of 2,250 again, and we see no reason for the MOEX Russia Index to grow today,” Antonov said.

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